Available Now · Book One of the Cody Gray Adventures

Cody and the
Lost Gold

1852

Lost gold. A dangerous secret. A boy and his horse will ride for the truth.

Book cover: Cody and the Lost Gold by Lorne Thomas — a boy riding a galloping horse through a rain-swept canyon.
Ages 9–12Grades 4–7Historical AdventureCalifornia, 1852Clean Read for Families

The Story

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Some Things Are
Worth More Than Gold

1852. The California Gold Rush is over, but Cody Gray’s adventure is just beginning.

Eleven-year-old Cody and his father lost the gold they worked so hard to find. Now they’re starting over at a cattle ranch, hoping for a little good luck and a chance to leave the past behind.

But the past has a way of catching up with you.

A cattle drive. A dangerous stranger. A loyal horse. A new friend. And somewhere along the trail, a secret that could change everything.

Cody is about to discover that the frontier is full of surprises—and that courage sometimes means facing danger when walking away would be much easier.

He went looking for a fresh start. What he found was an adventure he would never forget.
Illustration detail: Cody riding hard through the rain along a canyon trail.

What's Inside

  • A boy, a horse, and a long ride
  • Real California Gold Rush history
  • A mystery that pays off
  • Courage, honesty, and loyalty tested
  • Short chapters that keep pages turning

Meet the Riders

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Meet the Riders

Three names you'll get to know before the trail runs out.

Cody

Eleven-year-old Cody Gray is not easily scared off. When trouble comes looking for him, he has a habit of finding himself right in the middle of the adventure.

Dove

Dove has a complicated past and a lot to prove. He and Cody form an unlikely friendship—one that neither of them could have expected, and neither will soon forget.

Ranger

Sure-footed, fearless, and worth more than gold, Ranger is the kind of horse a boy can trust when the trail turns dangerous. Whatever Cody rides into, Ranger goes first.

Parents & Homeschoolers

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Written to Be Read for Fun.
Built to Fit Your History Unit.

Cody and the Lost Gold is an adventure story first. It just happens to be set in one of the most interesting decades in American history — making it easy to pair with what you're already teaching.

Content Notes

  • Written especially for boys 9–13 — and enjoyed by anyone who likes a good ride

Pairs With

  • Westward expansion and life on the frontier
  • Daily life in the 1850s
  • Cattle drives and the working West
  • Horses, ranching, and frontier skills
  • Geography and the American West
  • Friendship, courage, and making difficult choices

Adventure Pack

  • Gold Rush facts — what really happened in California after 1849
  • 1850s vocabulary — the words Cody’s world runs on
  • Horses of the frontier — learn about the horses, tack, and skills that made life on the trail possible
  • Life on the trail — learn about cattle drives, ranch life, horses, and the people who kept the herd moving
  • Discussion questions — for a read-aloud or a book club
  • Hands-on activities — for kids who learn by doing

Watch the Trailer

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Ride Into the Adventure

A glimpse of Cody and the Lost Gold, a historical adventure for young readers.

The Series

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The Cody Gray Adventures

One boy, one horse, and a West that is bigger and stranger than anybody told him.

Cover of Cody and the Lost Gold by Lorne Thomas, Book One of the Cody Gray Adventures
Book I

Cody and the Lost Gold

A lost fortune, a dangerous secret, and an eleven-year-old boy who refuses to give up until he finds the truth.

Available Now

Buy on Amazon

Cover of Cody and the Broken Trail by Lorne Thomas, Book Two of the Cody Gray Adventures
Book II

Cody and the Broken Trail

The trail is broken. But their courage runs deep.

1852

Coming Soon

The Author

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Lorne Thomas

Lorne Thomas writes historical adventures for young readers—stories with horses, hard country, real history, and young people discovering what they’re capable of when adventure comes calling.

Cody and the Lost Gold is the first book in the Cody Gray Adventures, a series set in the American West of the 1850s. Every book starts in a real place, in a real year, with history that actually happened — and then turns a kid loose in it.

Stay in the Loop

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